Okay, ever since I was about 13 (I'm 17 now), I've really taken to sensitive combination skin that presents me with intense acne that cannot decide what it wants to do. I've tried pro-activ (that made it worse), I've tried that clean-and-clear stuff, and I've had just about every medication with chemical names that end in '-ol' or 'ide' (I would list the literal names but I am currently no where near my failed medication drawer). Currently, epiduo is about as close as I've gotten to a holy grail product as it cut my facial and chest acne down about a little over a half compared to what it was. Around this miracle moment, I noticed my seemingly mild bacne begin to change. I was getting random rock hard pimples around my spine and small of my back that would not produce a whitehead and dang these little craps hurt like no other. Those were weird for a while but then chilled some. Now is when the pimples began from right below my shoulder blades, to my shoulders, to my neck, to even behind my ears- these zits were different tho. The ones on my back and shoulders were about a nickel to quarter sized that felt almost "squishy" and would not pop or go away no matter how many times I tried to pop them or how much dry-out medication I added to them. No whiteheads formed. And every time I put my epiduo or this "clindamycin phosphate" crap on them, the little 'bulbs' 'eat' the liquid and cream and grow a bit in diameter and raise some. The ones on my neck are dime sized and act the same and the ones behind my ear are pencil eraser sized and act the same. I have no idea what to do about all of these! I usually have at least three or 4 at one time (not counting the many little jerk pimples that act normal and do have whiteheads). As a female this is so aggravating because makeup pisses off these huge zits and I can't really wear tank tops out in public now and my bra straps rub some of them raw if it covers it.
This in general wouldn't be such an issue since I'm used to acne; however, crap gets different when the redness broadens as well as the pain and size. Can anyone please tell me what kind of acne these little jerks are that consume the medication that is supposed to actually dry them out?
I have attached an image of this mild one on my shoulder. He has a few friends stuck to him that are the same way if ya look closely.
Hi, I have been on a lot of topicals too before, ie clindamycin, BHA, AHA, BP, epiduo, and a few others for bacne. I've tried at least 15 different types of BP, and none of them work. Unfortunately, none of them ever cleared my bacne. As a matter of fact, they irritated the shit out of my skin, and made it worse. My shoulder looks like yours right now too. Topicals might possibly work for someone who's skin can tolerate it or someone who doesn't have a bad case of bacne.
Have you ever considered going on birth control or accutane?
A lot of people on here claim diet is the answer, but it didn't do much for me either. Sorry I can't be of more help, but bacne is a real pain in the ass to clear, and the only sure fire way I know of is accutane. I've never tried birth control, because I am a guy.
You might try an essential oil, Artemisia alba. Its used in herbal medicine against acne in South Africa. Ive tried about 30 essential oils against malassezia (seb derm) and Artemisia is the only one that seems to calm redness and irritation, and disrupt the bad-guy micro-biota so that the bodys normal healing process can proceed. Im only two weeks into my use of it, but it seems to working like I described, where my skin is naturally exfoliating, more efficiently than with the usual chemical exfoliates.
I dont have acne, but I think all skin problems are related to each other and Im trying to research all aspects because doctors have been useless to me. Here are some medical references for Artemisia and acne: http://www.omicsonline.org/2153-0645/2153-0645-2-105.php (see page 4-5 of the .pdf, or just above Table 2); http://www.research-degree-thesis.com/showinfo-42-412407-0.html and http://www.turner.ukzn.ac.za/iks/content/acne-pimples-treat-artemisia-afra-leaves-ground
There are many varieties of Artemisia but they are all related so I bought Artemisia alba essential oil from New Directions Aromatics. I use only 1 drop per 100 ml in body wash and lotions. Thats a tiny amount. It smells like licorice and wood, and is pleasant. Do not take this internally as it will cause major kidney shutdown. I havent used it in shampoo or face wash because essential oils make my eyes bloodshot, but you may have a different response. If you want to research this further, the use of traditional ethnic remedies is now called ethno-botanicals or ethno-pharmaceuticals.
Hi, I have been on a lot of topicals too before, ie clindamycin, BHA, AHA, BP, epiduo, and a few others for bacne. I've tried at least 15 different types of BP, and none of them work. Unfortunately, none of them ever cleared my bacne. As a matter of fact, they irritated the shit out of my skin, and made it worse. My shoulder looks like yours right now too. Topicals might possibly work for someone who's skin can tolerate it or someone who doesn't have a bad case of bacne.
Have you ever considered going on birth control or accutane?
A lot of people on here claim diet is the answer, but it didn't do much for me either. Sorry I can't be of more help, but bacne is a real pain in the ass to clear, and the only sure fire way I know of is accutane. I've never tried birth control, because I am a guy.
I love your last line "I've never tried birth control, because I am a guy." XD
Anyway, I've never tried it either, nor accutane. I'm intending to stay away from accutane because I suppose I'm too worried about the side effects that it may cause. Also, the only thing concerning diet that I've heard for sure can influence acne is sugar/caffeine and other various things like that. I tried staying away from caffeine or other sugary things and that didn't make a difference. I have a pretty terrible diet overall tho- I'm 5'7" and continue to fluctuate between 127-135 lbs tho when I stop paying attention to the crap I eat. Is acne the product of my diet? Probably not, my dad went through the same sebaceous hell when he was my age. But for someone who doesn't have acne in the genes, is acne the product of bad diet? It could be depending on how his or her body reacts to it. Maybe.
Hi, I have been on a lot of topicals too before, ie clindamycin, BHA, AHA, BP, epiduo, and a few others for bacne. I've tried at least 15 different types of BP, and none of them work. Unfortunately, none of them ever cleared my bacne. As a matter of fact, they irritated the shit out of my skin, and made it worse. My shoulder looks like yours right now too. Topicals might possibly work for someone who's skin can tolerate it or someone who doesn't have a bad case of bacne.
Have you ever considered going on birth control or accutane?
A lot of people on here claim diet is the answer, but it didn't do much for me either. Sorry I can't be of more help, but bacne is a real pain in the ass to clear, and the only sure fire way I know of is accutane. I've never tried birth control, because I am a guy.
I love your last line "I've never tried birth control, because I am a guy." XD
Anyway, I've never tried it either, nor accutane. I'm intending to stay away from accutane because I suppose I'm too worried about the side effects that it may cause. Also, the only thing concerning diet that I've heard for sure can influence acne is sugar/caffeine and other various things like that. I tried staying away from caffeine or other sugary things and that didn't make a difference. I have a pretty terrible diet overall tho- I'm 5'7" and continue to fluctuate between 127-135 lbs tho when I stop paying attention to the crap I eat. Is acne the product of my diet? Probably not, my dad went through the same sebaceous hell when he was my age. But for someone who doesn't have acne in the genes, is acne the product of bad diet? It could be depending on how his or her body reacts to it. Maybe.
Lol, maybe you should try the birth control route then? I wish I could. I haven't done accutane either, because of the side effects. I'm afraid I'll go bald. I am seriously considering it though, seeing how everything else has failed. This past week I have dealt with a serious breakout all over my back. I must of had at least 100 zits this week. I even found 1 on my leg.
As far as diet, I've tried most of them, and still had bad acne. I did manage to lose almost 40 lbs, which wasn't good at all. I'm 5'10", and normally range from 160-170. I got to 130, and still had acne. I tried being a vegan, no carb diets, paleo, starvation diets, with no effect on my acne. I agree with you, if someone doesn't have genetic acne, they might be able to clear it with diet or cleansers.
Good luck, and look in to birth control, maybe? Idk.
if it's on your neck/back/shoulders, do you think shampoo could be causing it?
i was getting bad cystic on my neck but it's calmed down recently, and the 2 main changes i made were stopping eating gluten, and changed shampoo to one i saw someone post about on here.
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that was the one.
i noticed since stopping both it really calmed down, then went a bit bad last week but i'd tried going back to a different shampoo. now i've gone back to this one it's better again